Saturday, October 30, 2010

Weight gain/loss: My scale tells me I gained 3 pounds this week. Is that possible?? I blame the bloat...

Maternity clothes? I love my BellaBand and Belly Belt.

Best moment this week? I'm feeling really sick and crappy right now, so I'm having a hard time thinking of anything.

Symptoms: Frequent urination, sore boobs, fatigue, bloated, stuffy nose & sore throat--but I think it's actually a cold. My mood varies from day to day. I'm irritable at work one day, and the next day I'm happy and upbeat.

Thursday, October 28, 2010

Today I went in for my first ultrasound. Going off my last menstrual period, the doctor assumed I was at least 6 weeks. The embryo was too small to see a heartbeat and was a little hard to find at first. The OB said I looked between 5 1/2 and 6 weeks pregnant. I informed her that I chart and I know I ovulated late--on Cycle Day 18 instead of 14. She said, in that case, everything looks perfect.

I think it's odd that professionals don't let their patients know about the variation in ovulation and how that affects the size of the fetus. Most women are probably told that the fetus is slightly small, when in fact it was probably just a case of later ovulation. That seems like it would cause a lot of needless worry. I'm sure I'd be freaking out if I thought I was 6 weeks 2 days and there was no heartbeat. We could barely even see the baby on my ultrasound. But for 5 weeks 5 days, everything is perfect.

She will wait until my next ultrasound to measure and give me a definite delivery date. My tentative date she gave is June 21, 2010, but that is with an ovulation date on CD14. It looks like Fertility Friend is right on track with my real date of June 25. I will go in again on November 11 to hear the heartbeat. Grow, baby, grow!!

Saturday, October 23, 2010

Development: Baby's heart begins to beat this week and the brain is starting to grow!

Weight gain/loss: I’m still down 5 pounds, since I was dieting at the beginning of my cycle. I lost 6 pounds but gained one back, so I guess I’m technically up 1 pound? I don’t really how to measure this, lol.

Maternity clothes? I wore a Belly Belt for the first time to work yesterday. I used the smallest setting, but it made such a difference. My pants were so much more comfortable when I sat down!

Best moment this week? We figured out when we’re going to tell family and friends. November 14 will be parents and close family. Extended family will find out on Thanksgiving when I show up wearing this:

Symptoms: Period-like cramps on and off for the last week, fatigue, and sore nipples--which as of last night changed to full blown boob pain. Now I feel like my boobs are both really bruised.

Food cravings/aversions: I really don’t care for fruit right now (I normally eat a lot of it), but I crave protein and carbs instead. I really look forward to sandwiches for lunch!

What I'm looking forward to: My first OB appointment on Thursday!

Milestones: My ticker has changed from the smallest size (poppyseed) to an appleseed! It feels good to be making progress!

Sunday, October 17, 2010

My husband asked me to test again this morning, and this was the darkest positive I have seen yet! It showed up in about 30 seconds. I am 15 days past ovulation today, despite the fact that I wrote "14 dpo" on the pregnancy test strip. Oops!

Saturday, October 16, 2010

My symptoms have kicked in today at exactly 4 weeks: fatigue, extreme hunger, frequent urination, and my nipples are sore. I also had my first wave of nausea--it was triggered by the fact that I felt like I was starving to death an hour after I ate breakfast. My stomach is also super bloated despite the fact that I've lost 2 pounds since last week (down 6 pounds total since starting the Flat Belly Diet!)

Today I started the task of going through all the baby-related bookmarks I've save over the past year. I bought a couple more pregnancy books and a Belly Belt kit so I can wear my pants for as long as possible. I may invest in a BellaBand at some point, but I'll try these for now. Have you used the Belly Belt or Bella Band? Which do you prefer?

Friday, October 15, 2010

I went to the doctor yesterday to confirm pregnancy, and the urine test came back with a "faint positive," so they ordered at blood test to make sure. This was yesterday after 5pm, and I was told I would not get the results until Monday or Tuesday.

This morning at 8:30am, the doctor called me with the positive results. It's official--I'm pregnant! What a great way to start the weekend!

Now I need to wean myself off of taking my temperature and peeing on things daily. I figure I will probably test once a week or so early on until I start seeing an OB regularly. I'm so afraid of miscarrying.

Monday, October 11, 2010

Looks like I won't be losing weight with the Flat Belly Diet for a while! This morning I used a cheap internet test strip, and there was a faint pink line! After work, I confirmed it with a First Response and a Clearblue Digital.

I bought my husband a bag of candy to tell him--Sugar Babies, Baby Ruth, and Sour Patch Kids. He didn't get it at first, then kept staring at the Sour Patch Kids and then said something like, "There's a bunch of little people in here. Is there a little person in there?" and pointed to my belly. I just laughed and handed him a card. On the front was a cute baby mobile and the word "Congratulations." On the inside, I taped a picture of the digital pregnancy test and wrote "I hope you're ready!" Then I showed him the 3 pregnancy tests and I gave him a bib that says "I love my daddy."

Sunday, October 10, 2010

So far, this 2ww hasn't been like any I've ever had. My boobs are usually sore from ovulation until AF (aunt flo). This time, they are not sore at all yet, and I'm at 8 dpo (days past ovulation). In fact, until yesterday, I hadn't had any symptoms at all. My husband thinks that my lack of symptoms might be a symptom of pregnancy.

At 7dpo yesterday, things changed a bit. I'm trying not to get my hopes up, but this is messing with my head. Yesterday I was very emotional. I burst out in tears because my in-laws found out we are TTC. I cried on and off for about an hour, then I started crying all over again when my husband got home and I told him how I felt. I felt a few twinges near my pelvic bone yesterday, but I had that last month also.

The biggest change is that I started spotting last night, and again this morning. I have NEVER in my 9 months of TTC spotted halfway through the 2ww. I wonder if it was implantation bleeding, so this morning I tested and of course I got a BFN (big fat negative). Really? 8dpo? I've reached an all-time low. I realize the spotting doesn't necessarily mean anything, but now I have hope, which means I will be that much more disappointed if it doesn't happen for us this month.

Saturday, October 9, 2010

The food was not very exciting, but I dropped 4 pounds on the "Anti-Bloat Jumpstart" of the Flat Belly Diet. I didn't feel like I was bursting out of my jeans yesterday, so that was nice. I discovered that I actually like sunflower seeds and string cheese. The 1/4 cup of sunflower seeds every day kept me full for hours and I didn't feel like snacking as much throughout the day.

I also discovered that I like salt more than I thought I did. The food was pretty bland, but I did it! I'm actually extending the diet into a 5-day jumpstart b/c I have some food left over. My plan for today is to diet for breakfast and lunch. But there's a USC game on at 5pm, and football does not lend itself to dieting...

The shopping list for the first week of the full diet is pretty extensive, so I will probably shop for the food tomorrow and start the real diet on Monday. The real diet looks much more interesting than the Jumpstart. I can't wait for semi-sweet chocolate chips and guacamole!

Monday, October 4, 2010

Tomorrow I am starting the Flat Belly Diet. I'm pretty excited about it, but I've never been able to stick to a diet for very long, so I hope I can do it. I also bought a spiffy new digital food scale to make sure I'm eating the right portion sizes.

The Flat Belly Diet is Mediterranean-inspired and includes a MUFA (mono-unsaturated fatty acid) at every meal. MUFAs are basically healthy fats. The menus contain plenty of meals with avocado, dark chocolate, nuts, and other yummy things!

It's a 4-day "anti-bloat jump start" followed by a 28-day meal plan. I am committed to the jump start part, and we'll see how I feel after that. I'm excited about the "Sassy Water" I get to drink for the first 4 days. Sassy Water is cucumber, lemon, mint, and freshly grated ginger soaked overnight in a pitcher of water. I'm hoping it will help to control my appetite if I drink it throughout the day. Wish me luck!